Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee today addressed a public meeting at Belakoba Public Club Ground at Rajganj in the Jalpaiguri Lok Sabha constituency.
Highlights of his speech:
I am warmly welcoming to all of you for coming here to attend our meeting.
Vote for Bijoy Chandra Barman, but remember that you are actually voting for Mamata Banerjee. I am confident when the counting will be done with on May 25, the people will see the BJP wiped out from Jalpaiguri.
Remember that there is a big difference between the 2014 election and this election. In 2014, we had asked you to vote against the corrupt Congress, communal BJP and violent CPI(M).
This time, the entire country has bowed down in fear to the BJP. However, Bangla has remained steadfast in its opposition to the communal-minded BJP.
Mamata Banerjee has proved again and again that Bangla is very strong and in fact, it has always been so – right from the days of the freedom movement, when the people of Bangla have showed their character. The people of the State cannot be swayed by false propaganda.
Since they cannot fight us politically, they have taken the refuge of religion.
I do not believe in dividing people on the basis of religion. I believe in real Hinduism, in the Hinduism preached by the likes of Swami Vivekananda, not in the fake Hinduism of Yogi Adityanath, Amit Shah and Narendra Modi.
I follow the tenets of Hinduism, worship Durga and at the same time, stand beside my Muslim brothers and sisters during Eid and ask for Allah’s blessings.
As a person, I can pray to any god I want, but a an elected representative of the people, my only religion is humanism, and therefore my duty is to see to it that every person receives the benefits of the developmental schemes that form the basis of our rule in the State.
They have been fooling the people over the last five years in the name of ‘Achhe Din’.
There has been no development done in the villages of Bangla by the Central Government. The BJP has only been indulging in communal politics.
Swami Vivekananda had said, “Bohurupe sammukhe tomar, chhari kotha khunjichho Ishwar,/ Jibe prem kore jei jon, sei jon sebichhe Ishwar” [translated as “Where are you looking for God – when he is in front of you in every living being, in many different forms? Those who serve mankind (and any other living being) are serving God”]
Five years ago, Narendra Modi had asked for votes in the name of Swami Vivekananda. If he was really a saviour of the Hindu religion, as he claims to be, why didn’t he give Belur Math the recognition it deserved?
All over the country there are no jobs and so people have no money, but in Bangla, because of Mamata Banerjee, you have everything.
I will say again and again, “Chowkidar chor hain”. I dare Modi to arrest me.
All criminals have only one address, and that is Bharatiya Janata Party. The BJP candidate from Cooch Behar is involved in smuggling, for example.
The BJP has said that it will win 22 seats in Bangla but I can bet that we will win all 42 seats, and that will be revealed on May 25.
I am daring the BJP to win even a single seat here.
I have always worked for the good of the people by constantly being by their side, and not been like the BJP leaders, who are only interested air-conditioned comfort.
We have seen that the prime minister is neither a chaiwallah nor a chowkidar – but Mamata Banerjee has always remained genuine, still living in that humble house of hers while managing the welfare of 10 crore people of her State.
The BJP calls itself the saviour of Hindus, but what has it really done?
We used to say the Congress is corrupt from the sky to the ground – referring to the 2G Scam and the Coal Scam. The same can be said of the BJP – there is the Rafale Scam and the Namami Ganga Scam, and others in between.
You have always supported Mamata Banerjee and she has paid you back – Jalpaiguri circuit bench, engineering and medical colleges, ITIs and so many other benefits have come solely as a result of her efforts.
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I can see 30,000 people here – can any of you say that you have received Rs 15 lakh in your bank accounts? Of course not.
But all of you can say that you have received the benefits of schemes like Kanyashree, Yuvashree, Sabooj Sathi, Rupashree, Sabujshree, Baitarani and others – this is what the government of Mamata Banerjee does.
On Apr 18, when you go out to vote, remember to vote for the right person, vote for the respect and culture of Bangla.
In Gujarat, which is Modi’s State, the BJP won all 26 out of the 26 Lok Sabha seats in 2014, but in the 2017 Assembly elections, they lost so many seats. Therefore, if Gujarat can do it, so can you.
Netaji had once said – give me blood and I will give you freedom; now Mamata Banerjee has given the call for Bangla – give me 42 out of 42 Lok Sabha seats, and I’ll give you a progressive and secular India.
Remember that voting for the CPI(M) or the Congress would be a waste of your money, because the fight this time is between Agnikanya Didi and the communal Modi.
All the surveys are saying that Modi is not coming back to power.
The prices of cooking gas, kerosene, petrol and diesel had gone up by several times a few months back, but over the last two months, as the BJP started losing in State elections, the prices have come down. The price of platform ticket has also gone up – from Rs 2 to Rs 20.
From June 1, after the new government is formed in May, the prices of all these items would come down further and become affordable for the common man once again.
The prime minister is shamelessly using the Army for getting votes. A few days back, he asked the people to vote for his party so that he could protect the army. This is just shamelessly using the soldiers’ deaths as a result of the Pulwama massacre for one’s own advantage.
Do you know the name of any of the people who have stood against Modi in his constituency? You haven’t, because the media is scared to report.
I will say again and again, chowkidar chor hain. I dare Modi to arrest me.
Let me tell you who has stood against Modi. It is the same person, then a BSF jawan, who had released a video that had gone viral, showing the pathetic quality of the food being served to them. He was sacked as a result. He is the person who is fighting Modi.
The prime minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan has said that he wants Modi. And Pakistan is supposed to be our enemy. Therefore our enemy wants Modi as the prime minister. The ISI, Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi, Vijay Mallya, rioters and smugglers – all want Modi as the prime minister.
And all the hard-working people want Mamata Banerjee as the prime minister. This is the difference between them.
I exhort all the first-time voters of Jalpaiguri to vote for a better Bangla, a better Jalpaiguri, and for the unity and culture of Bangla.
Mamata Banerjee has not imposed a single rupee of extra tax because she can feel for the poor.
Modi doesn’t really feel for the poor. At his rallies, he just repeats word ‘garib’ like some chant, just like he chants the word ‘sena’ without really thinking of their good.
We want air and water as basic elements for survival. The BJP, on the other hand, thrives on creating divisions, and on instigating riots and communal troubles.
The BJP has realised that chanting ‘Jai Shri Ram’ is no longer working in their favour.
By calling themselves Ram bhakts, the BJP people are actually insulting Ram. The real Ram did a lot of sacrifice, including spending 14 years in exile.
Last year, our government had decided to give Rs 10,000 each to 28,000 Durga Puja committees in the State. Instead of supporting this decision, the BJP, CPI(M) and Congress went to court the next day, terming the move as Hindu appeasement. This is the kind of care and concern they have for the people of the State.
We give ‘imam bhata’ (stipend for imams) and ‘moazzem bhata’ (stipend for moazzems) taking from the Waqf board, as per the directions of the Supreme Court, and not from the tax you pay us.
The money you give as tax we spend for your own welfare, in the form of various development schemes that have changed your lives for the better so much.
The BJP has not sent greetings even once to the people of the State on the occasion of Durga Puja, the biggest festival in the lives of Bengalis.
If you have your Ram, we have our Durga. But your Ram is now all alone, with only the CBI and ED by his side, while by our Durga stands the entire country, from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. Your Ram is on his way out, being chased by our Durga.
2019 will see the end of the BJP Government at the Centre.
The two Lok Sabha seats that the BJP had won in Bangla in 2014, they will lose even those two this time.
Darjeeling and Asansol will reject the BJP. True to its form, the BJP has created unrest in both Darjeeling and Asansol.
Prove your true credentials of standing for a united Bangla, by voting out the BJP. Don’t leave even a square inch of space to the opposition.
Like the BJP, I too say ‘Bharat mata ki jay’, but I say it because of my pride for my country, not for achieving narrow communal ends.
Vote for Bijoy Chandra Barman, but remember that you are actually voting for Mamata Banerjee, and therefore for the development of Jalpaiguri and of Bangla in general.
I request everyone to go out early in the morning of April 18 to the polling booths and vote for Trinamool Congress.
I end my speech by paying my respect to everyone – the elderly, the youth, the party workers, the mothers and the sisters.
Jai Hind, Vande Mataram, Trinamool Zindabad, Mamata Banerjee Zindabad, victory to Jalpaiguri, victory to Bangla
